Eason
“Hey, Wilder.” I said as I jogged through the streets dodging people.
“Where you at, Eason?”
“I’m out for a run. What’s wrong?”
“You’re coming to the board meeting today, right?”
“Of course. I was instructed to be here. I’m here.” I huffed out.
“God forbid we take you away from your precious ranch.”
I shook my head. It wasn’t just a ranch. We own many ranches and had quite the control on the meat producers in the United States along with the entertainment industry we’d developed at many ranches. Out of my three brothers my part of Hill Incorporated was the most diverse and lucrative. Wilder loved to act like a little baby whenever the company demanded my presence.
“Well, Wilder, that ranch and many others have brought in a lot of money.”
Silence filled my earbud. If I was lucky, I’d lost connection with him. However, the most likely option was he was thinking of a way to drop some drama bomb on me.
“Wilder you still there?” I asked as I dodged a mom jogging with a stroller.
“Rumor has it you’re being promoted today.”
I stopped in my tracks. That had to be a joke. Part of my agreement to work for my father’s company was that I got a job that allowed me to travel more than be stuck in the office. A promotion would shackle me to a desk.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re going to be named dad’s successor. No more cowboy days for you big brother.”
“Tell me you’re joking, Wilder.”
My brother laughed. He was getting way too much fun out of this. “Welcome to being the CEO of Hill Incorporated, Eason.”
“How am I just finding out about this from you?”
“Maybe if you answered Dad’s calls you’d be in the know.”
I rolled my eyes. Just as I’m about to yell at Wilder, I swing my arms up and hit something. That something shrieks and curses. Aw hell. It was a woman walking by and my hand connected with her coffee flinging it in the air and all over her.
“I’ll call you back.” I end the call with Wilder.
Looking at the drenched woman, I say, “I am so sorry.”
“Holy fuck balls. Am I really covered in my iced coffee right now?” She whispered to herself.
“At least it was iced.”
She didn’t find the comment helpful. The daggers that she shot from her eyes could have killed me.
As people rushed by we stood there frozen. I had no idea what to do for the woman. I could tell she’d been dressed for work. Her makeup slid down her face as her damp tresses dripped onto her soaked shirt. The only thing I could think to do was to literally offer her the shirt off my back. I ripped it over my head and held it out to her.
“Please take this.”
“I’ve got this.” She dug in her bag and pulled out baby wipes. It was a good thing she was a mom.
I continued to stand next to her while she cleaned herself up. I resisted the urge to tell her it wasn’t helping if anything it made things worse. The more I stood there watching her I saw the beauty I’d almost missed. Her bright green eyes and auburn curls called out for my touch. It didn’t matter that they were coffee soaked in that moment. To resist that urge, I drew my gaze down her body. That was an even worse decision. The wet shirt outlined her breasts and hips. Her curves were deadly and if I hadn’t begun reciting last month’s quarterly numbers, I would have been sporting a very obvious boner.
“What the fuck am I going to do? Dylan is going to kill me. I only made things worse.” She walked over to the nearby trashcan to deposit the handful of baby wipes.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Why the hell did I just ask that?
Her eyes flashed to me. “You may have just wrecked my life. Thanks. What the hell were you doing standing there as if you were the only person in the world?”
I opened my mouth to explain but she kept going.
“Oh, wait don’t tell me you didn’t care. All of you rich men are the same. Jogging around with your expensive electronics and high-end ridiculous sneakers. You feel you get to ignore that there are regular people around trying to get by. Ugh!”
What the hell did one say to something like that? “You think my sneakers are ridiculous?” That wasn’t it.
She swung her arms in the air clearly exasperated by my presence. When she moved to leave I stopped her with a hand on her arm. Her laser gaze made me snatch my hand back before she tore it off with her teeth.
“Wait! I really am sorry. I understand you’re upset but please take my shirt yours is too…” I leaned toward her. “Uhm…see through.”
Her eyes took me in then she glanced down at her shirt. Letting out a squeak, she covered her breasts with an arm while snatching the shirt from my hand. In a lightning fast move she pulled the shirt over her head covering my view of her breasts. Though it was hidden from my view, the fact she was wearing my shirt was sexy as hell. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Thank you.” She said quietly then ran off in the opposite direction.
I watched her disappear in the bustling crowd of people. When I started my jog again, my mind began to wonder. Beautiful green eyes with a body to kill continued to invade my thoughts. I wondered if I’d ever see the beauty again.